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Mazhabi Sikh (also known as Mazbhabi, Mazbhi, Majhabhi or Majabhi) is a community from North India, especially Punjab region, who follow Sikhism. Mazhabi are part of wider category of Sikhs, who convert from the valmiki (chuhra) community. The word Mazhabi is derived from the Arabic language term mazhab (Madhab means religious School of thought), and can be translated as the faithful. They live mainly in Indian Punjab, Rajasthan and Haryana.
The definition of Mazhabi today is somewhat blurred because of the influence of Valmikism. While Sikhism is in theory an egalitarian faith that takes no notice of caste, gender and other social demarcations, Fenech and Singh note that "there is often a level of hypocrisy between what is taught and what is actually put into practice." Mazhabis are discriminated against by Sikhs whose origins lie with higher-ranked castes and many have turned to Valmikism but are still referred to as Mazhabi. While young Valmiki caste, who accept Valmiki as their guru, increasingly object to being labelled as Sikh, their elders are less concerned. At least one of their organisations, the Valmiki-Mazhabi Sikh Morcha, conflates the terms.,
Mazhabis who converted from Sikhism to Christianity under the influence of Christian missionaries in the later years of the British Raj are sometimes referred to as Christian Mazhabi Sikhs. Some also profess Hinduism but call themselves Mazhabi, as do a small number who follow the tenets of Buddhism.
It was calculated in 1898 that there were 2,452 Mazhabis in the army, along with 28,146 Jat Sikhs and 9,000 other Sikhs. During World War I the single-battalion regiments of the Mazhabi Sikh Pioneers – the 23rd, 32nd and 34th Pioneer Regiments – were expanded to comprise three battalions each. These units served in Egypt, Europe, Mesopotamia and Palestine and performed well. The 1/34th Sikh Pioneers were awarded the title of "Royal".
The Sikh Pioneer regiments, which were practically the only military employer of the Mazhabis, were disbanded in December 1932. The cause was mainly advances in road-building techniques and the need to economise. Most of their recruits were released from the army, the only means by which they had been able to advance themselves in society. A Mazhabi Sikh platoon did replace as the Indian Platoon of the Welch Regiment in 1933.
The Mazhabi Sikhs, together with the Ramdasia, were recruited to the Sikh Light Infantry regiment (SLI) after its formation in 1941. Despite unwillingness among some policy makers, the British had to abandon their traditional distinction between martial and non-martial races during the Second World War. This was necessitated by the need for more recruits than could be supplied by those communities upon which they usually relied, such as the Jat Sikhs, Dogras and Punjabi Muslims. In addition, indiscipline among Jat Sikhs caused by their concerns regarding a post-war division of India was another reason to prefer recruitment of new classes. While recruitment from the pre-war martial classes was still pre-eminent, that from newly recognised classes such as the Mazhabis and Ramdasias became significant. Mazhabis were even recruited into units such as the 13th Frontier Force Rifles, which previously would not have contemplated them.
The Mazhabi Sikh soldiers have a reputation for their loyalty and reliability. During Operation Blue Star in 1984, when the Indian Army entered the Harmandir Sahib, Jat Sikh soldiers broke out in mutiny against their officers in the Sikh Regiment and Punjab regiments A total of 2,000 Sikh personnel took part in the mutinies. In the most sensational case 1,400 mainly Jat Sikhs deserted after killing their commanding officer and armed themselves. A significant number of those were also new recruits who were incited easily into mutiny and some were forced at gun point to take part in the mutinies. Despite that, the Indian Army officers were correct when they expressed confidence to journalists that the Mazhabi Sikhs of the Sikh Light Infantry would not mutiny.
In Punjab, Sikh militants had stepped up their attacks on law enforcement as well as civilians, including minority groups. The Punjab had now reached a state of emergency and Director General of Police, Kanwar Pal Singh Gill, responded by raising Mazhabi Sikhs as "Special Police Officers". This tactic was designed both for community protection and to dull any incentive for Mazhabis to join with the militants, although in fact Mazhabis had often been victims of attacks by those people. Their loyalty was to the government and was never questioned. Mostly unemployed people, they were provided with guns by the state and were literally given a licence to kill. Gill received heavy criticism for the brutality and ruthlessness of his tactics but the Sikh militants were neutralised. A large number of these special police officers were said to have been used during the February 1992 elections. An open season was declared on Sikh terrorists and the police were able to use whatever means deemed necessary to achieve victory. Major Sikh militant leaders were targeted, and many did not survive.
The British Raj system of land allocation in the Punjab also worked against the Mazhabis. As land in the new canal colonies was made available for cultivation, the Raj allocated it to people on the basis of the scale of existing landholdings, which meant that dominant landholding communities such as the Jats received most of the that became available between 1885 and 1940 while outcastes were excluded entirely.
During the numerous discussions, conferences and proposals that preceded Indian independence, the Mazhabis sought to obtain an autonomous region within partitioned Punjab which they proposed to be called "Mazbhistan". This was one of many instances reflecting the lack of coherence among adherents of Sikhism at that time.
Many Jat Sikhs continue to look down upon the Mazhabis, and they are also considered to be of lower status by the other Dalit communities, being the Ramdasia/Ravidasia. The internal division between Jat Sikh and Mazhabi still broadly follows the economic distinction between farmer and landless labourer. It is land-ownership rather than varna's stress on occupational status that defines discrimination within the Sikh communities of the Punjab, and Ronki Ram notes that the nature of untouchability itself in Punjab differs from the rest of India because it is "related more to prejudice than pollution". Many Mazhabi are still exploited in low-status jobs, they are often forced to live in less desirable areas of villages, cannot use the gurdwaras frequented by higher-caste Sikhs and must use special cremation grounds. According to Joyce Pettigrew, Mazhabis have adopted Jat Sikh clan names in an attempt to seek higher social statues by affiliating themselves with Jats.
According to a report published in The Tribune on 16 March 1966, a spokesperson for the Federation of Mazhabi Sikhs stated that "the Sikh Scheduled Castes had been reduced to a position of mere serfs by the Sikh landlords who would literally crush the Mazhabi Sikhs if Punjabi Suba was formed." The federation offered support for Arya Samaj and Jan Sangh in opposition to the Punjabi Suba. (1995). 9780271010151, Penn State Press. ISBN 9780271010151
Although Sikh leaders recognise the contribution of the Mazhabis and Ravidasias to the community and have tried to include them in their organisations, not least because of the size of their population, both groups still feel alienated because of discrimination by higher-caste Sikhs, especially the Jats. It is because of this that they have turned to political parties such as the Bahujan Samaj Party rather than maintaining past associations with Sikh politics through the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and SGPC.
Perhaps the most notable politician to come from the Mazhabi community is Buta Singh, former Minister of Home Affairs and chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes of the central government.
, there were 2,633,921 Mazhabis in the Indian state of Punjab, of whom 2,562,761 declared themselves to be Sikh, 71,000 as Hindu and 160 as Buddhists. The total Scheduled Caste population of the state was 8,860,179. At that time, there were 158,698 Mazhabis in Rajasthan, comprising 11,582 Hindus, 147,108 Sikhs and 8 Buddhists. 141,681 lived in Haryana (11,485 Hindu, 130,162 Sikh and 34 Buddhists), 460 resided in Himachal Pradesh, 3,166 in Chandigarh, 2,829 in Delhi NCT, 6,038 in Uttarakhand, and 14,192 in Uttar Pradesh.
| + Mazhabi Sikhs along with Valmiki caste in Punjab by Districts (2011) | ||
| Amritsar | 568,997 | |
| Barnala | 78,820 | |
| Bathinda | 247,798 | |
| Faridkot | 164,201 | |
| Fatehgarh Sahib | 45,635 | |
| Firozpur | 294,164 | |
| Gurdaspur | 151,838 | |
| Hoshiarpur | 57,236 | |
| Jalandhar | 241,614 | |
| Kapurthala | 140,723 | |
| Ludhiana | 223,230 | |
| Mansa | 123,782 | |
| Moga district | 251,956 | |
| Sri Muktsar Sahib | 233,837 | |
| Patiala | 142,995 | |
| Rupnagar | 29,813 | |
| Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar | 57,399 | |
| Sangrur | 126,473 | |
| Nawanshahr | 16,696 | |
| Tarn Taran | 315,574 | |
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